Caergaraen Ideas

Traditions
+2% Missionary Strength
+2 Tolerance of the True Faith

We Keep the FireAfter the death of Geladhlan the Stoneburner, the Saerraeg Asezhudar broke apart, fracturing into warring kingdoms. As time went on, many of these remnants turned to the religion of their subjects, and away from the liberty of Askaeorg, a process that only hastened after Olhokar conquered them.\n\nWhile most of the true followers of the Askaeorg faith preferred to die defending their recently conquered lands, the majority of the most "Taychendized" Chendhyans simply fled to the more facilitating Guaraddhi, the borderlands between the Chendhyan steppe and Taychend itself. Since then, Caergaraen has stood as the last bastion of the true Askaeorg faith in the region, even as the other powerful tribes of the Guaraddhi have abandoned it entirely.\n\nUsing their favoured mount, the Talyngaeda, an extremely manoeuvrable Andeiosi big cat that stalks the rugged hills along the coast of the Taras’su Ervan, Caergaraen has long launched devastating raids against the slavers and oppressors who would seek to extinguish the flame of liberty, harassing and ambushing any invaders who would seek to cross the highlands and assault Caergaraen directly.
+20% Cavalry Combat Ability

Two Hundred Coves of the Taras’su ErvanThe city of Caergaraen is situated in the largest of a massive series of interconnected hidden coves and bases along the southern coast of the Taras’su Ervan. Connected by a series of challenging mountain passes, trails and underground caves, made traversable only by the Talyngaeda mounts, they are incredibly tough to assault, and while Caergaraen itself has come under threat before, no invading army has ever been able to subjugate the tribe in its entirety. This has proven vital to Caergaraen’s survival, as even when the main city has fallen, and the tribe’s leadership is forced to flee to the island of Assakadail, Caergaraen can still use their hidden bases along the lake to carry on the fight.
+15% Fort Defence

Saerasyar, the Green Flamed SwordSaerasyar, the Green-Flamed Sword, is a precursor spellblade "held" by the leaders of Caergaraen. Originally the sword of Munakles, who led the escaped ancestors of the Devandi to the security of the Mteibhar valley with Saerasyar in hand, it is regarded as a symbol of the fierce independence and power of the Chendhyan people. Used by some of the greatest leaders of the steppe, such as Ultarlanbeg the Decimator and Geladhlan the Stoneburner, since passing into the hands of Caergaraen it has been ably used to fight for justice and freedom.\n\nSharp as anything, its blade ignites when drawn, sheathed in blue-green flames. However, Saerasyar is also infamous for having a mind of its own, spontaneously exploding should the wielder of the sword attempt to commit an "evil" act with its blade, seeming to reappear only when it has found another deserving descendent of Munakles’ folk. Though the sword’s definition of "evil" has been broadly defined as unjust or undeserving killing, or else killing in order to uphold slavery, its exact values are difficult to be sure of – a fact that has led the wielders of Saerasyar to consider the worth of every strike.
+10% Shock Damage

Narha the WaterclawCaergaraen did not only fight for liberty and freedom on land, but on the waters of the Taras’su Ervan as well, their cats making fearsome enemies atop a vessel’s decks. For centuries, Caergarae pirates have attacked the slave ships travelling from Clemetar down to Empkheios, disrupting the flow of slaves to the west, and helping to protect Assakadail from naval threats – as well as lining their own pockets. While these raiders are often aligned with the tribal leadership in Caergaraen itself, they have been known to revolt against unjust actions – the most famous pirate was Narha Alazhyr, "the Waterclaw", a fierce lake-raider who overthrew the old, passive ruler of Caergaraen, wielding Saerasyar as she fought to maintain Caergaraen’s independence through the tumultuous wars of the two heroes.
-1% Yearly Army Tradition Decay

Guardians of AssakadailAssakadail is one of the holiest places to the Chendhyans, home to the Askalyn, or Great Sanctuary, the place where Munakles and his followers hid before the Ruin, and where he "rededicated" Saerasyar, his famous spellblade, pledging to never allow the blade to be swung in the service of evil. As the protectors of the Taras’su Ervan, Caergaraen also stands as the guardian of this most sacred site, and those records and history kept within by Chendhyan wise elves and shamans. While they stand watch over the great island, they will never forget the sacrifices their forefathers made to win them the liberty they hold so dear.
+10% National Tax Modifier

Kelhana the ConsolidatorWhile Narha was a fine general and lake-raider, and fiercely defended Caergaraen against those who would wish to destroy it, she was, by all accounts, a poor ruler. An alcoholic, and a pirate at heart, she cared little for politics or diplomacy, preferring quick fixes and patchwork solutions when political issues arose. When she died, the responsibility for securing her achievements fell on her daughter, Kelhana. Expertly managing and balancing the different factions within Caergaraen, Kelhana reformed her mother’s ramshackle military dictatorship into a set of institutions that could weather the many storms thrown at them in the following centuries, adopting governmental features of the Kheionai and Taychendi in an attempt to consolidate power in the capital, while maintaining the tribe’s way of life.
-5 Years of Separatism

We Light the PathNot 20 years after the death of Kelhana, Ameion attacked. Having recently appointed Rakkabuttai as their agents in the Guaraddhi, a joint Kheionai and Brotherhood army crossed the highlands, seizing Caergaraen and the other major towns along the coast – though they did not take Assakadail, fearing the cost of occupation, the Ameioni were satisfied and retreated, leaving their lackeys to pacify the highlands. But Caergaraen did not falter – for two centuries, they waged a guerilla war against the Brotherhood and their Kheionai paymasters, keeping the flame of liberty alive.\n\nEventually, Caergaraen’s fortunes turned. Besieged by Cannorian powers and beleaguered by internal revolts, Ameion’s grip on the north faltered, allowing Caergaraen to rise up against Rakkabuttai. The campaign was swift, merciless, and utterly successful. The capital of their hated enemy was captured, and the Brotherhood dispersed, the expected Ameioni counter-attack never materialising, focused as they were on their desperate struggle to maintain their Taychendi holdings.\n\nIn the great struggle that had engulfed the Guaraddhi since the death of Geladhlan, Caergaraen emerged victorious, liberating the remaining slaves on the plains, and lighting the path to freedom for all of Taychend.
+1 Missionaries

Ambition
-0.03 Monthly War Exhaustion